By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Heatwave Hits
Kendal Grey vs. Kelani Jordan for the NXT Women’s Championship: An awesome match. They were given plenty of time and made good use of it, as the match just kept getting better the longer it went. Much like Mercedes Mone and Willow Nightingale coming out of AEW All In on Sunday, these two must be feeling it today because they beat the piss out of one another. I was surprised that Jordan wasn’t among the last batch of main roster call-ups, and I thought it might happen soon if she lost this match. As much as she seems ready, it’s a great consolation prize to get a run with the NXT Women’s Championship, and I can’t wait to see her and Grey run it back. This has the potential to be an outstanding rivalry for years to come in NXT and someday on the main roster.
Tony D’Angelo vs. Cruz Montana vs. Grayson Waller vs. Zilla Fatu in a four-way for the NXT Championship: A strong four-way with a really good finish. I’ve vented many times about NXT doing too many Triple Threats and four-way championship matches, but they set this one up nicely. Waller faking the leg injury when he put Fatu through the broadcast table was great. I watched it back immediately and couldn’t figure out how he got hurt, but his selling was convincing enough that I just assumed that he did. It was a cool surprise when he returned to the ring and stole the pin from Montana. Of all the guys in this match, Waller needed the title the most. It gives him a credibility boost, and he can naturally defend the championship against any of the three babyfaces in this match. It’s great to see Waller get this opportunity and make the most of it after he spun his wheels on the main roster for so long. D’Angelo showed great fire at key points during the match. Fatu more than held his own in the biggest match of his young career. I love what the finish does for Montana. It wouldn’t have been so gratifying had he signed with NXT and won the championship quickly. He proved that he can play the world champion role really well in TNA, but he’s also great in chase mode. The heartbreak of coming so close to winning the NXT Championship in this match (and probably in some future matches) will make for a much greater moment when the day comes.
Myles Borne and Tavion Heights vs. Brad Baylor and Rick Smokes for the NXT Tag Team Titles: I wasn’t a fan of Baylor and Smokes dropping the tag team titles, so it was good to see them regain the belts so quickly. Baylor and Smokes were great opponents for Borne and Heights, who tossed them around with suplexes like they were nothing. This could have been a really good long-term rivalry, but it was obvious that Borne and Heights’ friendship wouldn’t last.
Myles Borne vs. Jackson Drake for the NXT North American Championship: Drake capped off the big night for Vanity Project by joining Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes in leaving the show with championship gold. In this case, it was framed as the Vanity Project stealing the North American Championship from Borne. Baylor and Smokes interfered, but Myka Lockwood’s wild powerbomb on Borne played a big part in Drake’s win. Here’s hoping that the Vanity Project holding multiple titles is the first step in booking them as a serious heel faction rather than as oblivious frat boys. I mentioned earlier that it was obvious that Borne and Heights weren’t going to be friends for long. The thing that wasn’t so obvious was that Borne would turn on Heights. The creative forces did a great job of swerving fans by aggressively teasing that Heights was going to turn on Borne. WWE’s long history of going overboard with foreshadowing was a big help in this case, as I just assumed that’s what they were doing when they laid it on so thick in teasing a Heights turn. It was a fun twist when Borne hit his finisher on Heights, and both wrestlers deserve credit for playing their parts well.
Jaida Parker vs. Nattie in a submission match: A soft Hit for a nice win for Parker. It should mean more to beat Nattie, but she’s been booked to lose way too often over the years. Still, she deserves credit for never shying away from trying to elevate younger wrestlers. Parker just got her mojo back, so she had to win this one. They kept it interesting with Nikkita Lyons and Karmen Petrovic interfering, and Thea Hail helping out Parker was set up nicely with the recent establishment of their friendship.
NXT Women’s North American Champion Zaria vs. WWE Women’s Speed Champion Wren Sinclair vs. Kali Armstrong in a Triple Threat unification match: A soft Hit. One down and one to go, as Zaria’s win should mean the end of the worthless WWE Women’s Speed Championship. I’m not really sure why they felt the need to add Armstrong to the match and have her take the pin. I really like Sinclair, but she didn’t need that level of protection. While it was good for Armstrong to get the PLE experience, I would have protected her rather than Sinclair, only because Sinclair is a plucky babyface who isn’t going to be hurt by losing one match, while Armstrong is more of a powerhouse type. But I don’t know what they have planned creatively, so this might make a lot more sense in the weeks ahead.
NXT Heatwave Misses
None: You’d think WWE officials would want as many people watching the NXT premium live events as possible. In fact, you’d think they’d be obligated to The CW to put NXT in the best position to maximize viewership. Rather, NXT is often used as a counterprogramming pawn in TKO/WWE management’s petty feud with AEW. It’s asking a lot of the developmental crew to hold up when comparisons are naturally going to be made when NXT and AEW shows run head-to-head. In this case, NXT went up against AEW’s biggest annual event. And while it’s hard to compare a great stadium show to an NXT PLE that reportedly had 5,440 tickets distributed, the NXT crew more than held their own. Was Heatwave better than All In? No, but it was the best NXT PLE in a long time. Heatwave followed the AAA Ola de Calor show, so the live crowd had sat through a three-hour show before Heatwave even started. By the time Heatwave ended, the live crowd had sat through six hours of wrestling, but you wouldn’t have known it based on how lively and invested the fans were. Sure, the arena was dark, and a lot of fans may have left before the end, but those who stuck around created a really good atmosphere. Heatwave was the last of the three shows I watched on Sunday. I’ve been ready to tap out during several six-hour WWE and AEW shows over the years, but the NXT show was so entertaining that I wasn’t looking at the clock while hoping the long day was nearly over. Trust me, that’s saying something when Heatwave was the final show in a 12-hour block. Overall, this was a hell of a show for a brand that lost so many notable names to the main roster in recent months. It’s just a shame that the corporate overlords didn’t hold the show at a time when as many people as possible would see it.
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(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time since 1997. He hosts the weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
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